Anakin began to harbor doubts.
Could it be that because he was in the body of the “Main Bottom,” even Hilde was starting to lose his mind?
“Stop it…”
Despite Anakin’s words, Hilde did not pull back.
Instead, he drew even closer to Anakin’s body.
It was almost as if he had been possessed by a demon.
As Anakin froze, his eyelashes fluttering in tension, a soft chuckle drifted down from above.
“Then you should be more careful.”
“…”
Hilde spoke while lightly ruffling Anakin’s hair, as if finding the terrified Anakin’s reaction endearing.
Caught in a gaze filled with deep affection, Anakin could only stare back.
Finally, Hilde pulled away.
Once the weight pressing down on him vanished, Anakin quickly sat up, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
‘Haah.’
As Anakin ran a hand through his messy hair and shot a quiet glare at him, Hilde watched him and spoke.
“I would never do something you hate.”
“…”
Does that mean he would have continued if I didn’t hate it?
Hilde’s mind was truly a mystery.
Hilde turned his gaze toward the window, murmuring.
“Besides, you look so scared…”
He picked up a teacup from the table and took a slow sip.
Feeling as though he had been thoroughly toyed with, Anakin gave him one last glare before perching on the edge of the bed. He began to think seriously.
He had absolutely no immunity to skinship.
The original Anakin in the novel was unphased by physical contact with the male leads—in fact, he often seduced them.
‘Is it because the soul inside has changed?’
Being the Main Shota was clearly not a job for just anyone.
“You went too far this time…”
At Anakin’s resentful remark, Hilde burst into laughter.
Anakin’s eyes widened at the rare sound.
It was the first time he had seen Hilde laugh like that.
Until now, he had only seen Hilde sneer or occasionally curve his lips kindly when looking at him.
But a laugh that looked genuinely amused…
Hilde, who always seemed like a mature adult, looked like a boy his own age in this moment.
Seeing him so happy caused Anakin’s grudge to melt away like snow.
“What’s so funny?” Anakin asked, his own mood lifting slightly.
Hilde replied, “There’s nothing else as cute as you.”
“?”
Anakin tilted his head, looking confused.
Hilde simply sat in his chair, crossed his legs, and picked up a book, telling him he didn’t need to know.
“No, wait—”
The moment Anakin opened his mouth to speak again, the doorknob turned without warning.
Creeeak.
The person who appeared through the groaning wooden door was Lucien.
His expression froze the moment he saw Anakin in the room.
For about ten seconds, Lucien stood in total silence, staring at Anakin as if in shock.
He just stood there, paralyzed.
Seeing Lucien’s vivid reaction, Anakin realized with a jolt that he wasn’t covering his face.
“Oh, boy.”
The words slipped out of Anakin’s mouth automatically.
Even though he planned to reveal his face during tomorrow’s practice anyway, the suddenness was still a shock.
“No matter how many times I tell him to knock, the brat never listens…”
Hilde muttered darkly, nonchalantly flipping a page in his book.
Feeling awkward, Anakin scratched his cheek and gave a greeting.
“Hi.”
Lucien, whose face had now turned incredibly serious, whispered to himself.
“…An angel?”
“…”
Anakin was used to these kinds of reactions.
Even the servants and vassals back at the estate looked at him with awe whenever they saw his face.
In his past life, he thought being exceptionally beautiful would be great, but the reality he learned here was that too much of anything becomes a poison.
“Anakin. Ignore him. He’s someone you gain nothing from interacting with,” Hilde said, his attention still fixed on the book despite his focus being elsewhere.
Lucien didn’t seem to hear Hilde’s insults.
He approached Anakin with a solemn expression and poked Anakin’s face with a finger.
When the doll-like Anakin looked up at him, Lucien finally began to smile.
“So there was a reason you were hiding your face.”
“Yeah…”
The white-haired boy, Lucien, rested his chin on his hand and stared at Anakin for a long time.
Feeling burdened by the gaze that seemed to scan every single fine hair on his skin, Anakin stepped back.
“Stay still.”
Lucien’s expression was uncharacteristically serious, causing Anakin to freeze.
But then, a thought struck him.
‘Wait, why do I have to stay still?’
Anakin narrowed his eyes. “I have to go back to my room now.”
“Just a little longer. This is my first time seeing you properly.”
Faced with Lucien’s face—the embodiment of pure mischief—Anakin had no choice but to sigh and indulge him.
For some reason, he found it hard to refuse Lucien’s requests.
Was it because he knew his tragic backstory, or was he just weak to that bright, innocent-looking face?
Anakin figured it was probably both.
This was a child capable of killing and committing evil without hesitation… yet Anakin couldn’t understand why he kept giving in to him.
“Hey.”
When Hilde called out to Lucien with a frown, Lucien didn’t even look back, remaining focused solely on Anakin as if lost in thought.
Without hesitation, Hilde threw his book at Lucien.
Lucien caught the flying book naturally and used telekinesis to return it to its place on the shelf.
“Wait a second. I’m talking to Anakin.”
“How is you talking to yourself a conversation?”
“You really have no patience. Sigh. I have no interest in Alphas.”
As sparks flew between the two, Anakin once again suffered while caught in the middle.
However, thanks to the bickering, he was freed from Lucien’s intense gaze.
Anakin stretched his arms and spoke.
“Lucien, you should listen to Hilde.”
“Why?”
“If you make an enemy of Hilde, things will get difficult for you.”
This was genuine advice for Lucien.
Black magic aside, making an enemy of Hilde involved immense risks.
His methods were cunning and meticulous; no matter how one calculated the odds, the only outcome was defeat.
Lucien seemed strong too, so Anakin wouldn’t say more, but he truly hoped they wouldn’t become enemies.
Lucien, who had been staring at Anakin, suddenly leaned his face in close.
Anakin froze again at the proximity.
With his snowy eyelashes and a handsome face that felt like a cold blizzard, he looked like a prince of the winter mountains from a fairy tale.
“I think you’re the prettiest person I’ve ever seen.”
“…”
Unable to watch Anakin’s trembling pupils any longer, Hilde grabbed Lucien by the collar of his shirt.
“Get out of this room.”
The strength Hilde used to drag the large Lucien away was staggering.
Making Hilde that annoyed was truly a rare talent.
Lucien, being dragged away without knowing why, shouted, “But this is my room!”
Ignoring him, Hilde dragged him all the way to the door.
Anakin spoke up hurriedly. “I’ll be the one to leave.”
The expressions of the other two crumpled simultaneously.
“No. I’d rather be the one to leave.”
“Anakin, you can stay here.”
Anakin looked at the two of them, dumbfounded.
‘Why are they so synchronized at times like this?’
“I need to go wash up and study now anyway.”
As Anakin stood up from the bed, Hilde looked at Lucien with a look of pure irritation.
“Don’t fight over nothing and try to get along. If you two fight, I feel like the whole annex will shake…”
Anakin passed the stunned duo and walked toward the door.
“Bye, both of you. See you in class tomorrow.”
Click.
Anakin smiled brightly as he said goodbye, and the door closed behind him.
Hilde, still holding Lucien’s collar, and Lucien, still being held, both stared blankly at the door Anakin had just exited.
Anakin woke up to the sound of someone shaking him.
‘Umm… Chel?’
He forced his heavy eyes open, only to see Mantis standing where his servant Chel should have been.
“Time to get up, Anakin.”
Seeing Mantis waking him with a blushing, shy face, Anakin let out a small chuckle, still half-asleep.
He had mistaken Mantis for Chel.
Being so used to being woken up, he had naturally assumed it was his servant.
Anakin sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“Sorry. I tend to sleep a lot…”
The saying that beauties sleep a lot was true.
The original Anakin was also famously difficult to wake up once he fell asleep.
“It’s our first practical lesson,” said Mantis, his face still red as he avoided eye contact.
“Right…”
Already time for practicals.
What kind of training would the Pasadian faction do?
Since it was Pasadian, it was certain that things wouldn’t go smoothly.
“They aren’t going to tell us to fight again, are they?”
“It’s possible. Or they might suddenly tell us to have a life-and-death duel…”
Given the personality of their teacher, Chris, Anakin predicted that such a thing wasn’t impossible.
In fact, he seemed like exactly the kind of person who would do it.
